Dec 15, 2014

Fear is an emotional state produced in human beings and other animals to watch for real or anticipated dangers. An animal that reacts to danger or even potential danger and escapes lives and reproduces. Selection favored such mechanisms to be hightened in situations of danger of predation, of starvation of accidental death and so on. But an animal that is exceptionally fearful is also disadvantaged because it can avoid going out to find food or a better shelter or a mate. Fear is a double edged sword; useful in moderation especially when accompanied by logical thinking based on real phenomena and harmful in certain situations. Psychologists call the latter phenomenon of excessive fear as phobia. Phobia can lead to extreme behaviors or to hiding in ourselves and not taking any risks (risk taking is needed for progress). There are actually hundreds of named phobias ranging from Ablutophobia (irrational fear of washing or bathing) to Zoophobia (fear of animals). All humans are afraid of something or another but perhaps a significant proportion of humans are suffering from pathological phobias that impair or result in self damage or damage to others.I wrote in my 2004 book "Sharing the Land of Canaan" about role of fear in political discourse:

Begin quoteFear is the most powerful tool ever used by governments. Fear caused good Germans to support the Nazis in 1934 and surrender their liberties for supposed protection from "terrorism" and domination by the communists who some capitalists believed at the time to be dominated by "Jewish elements." It causes many good Jews to support Israeli atrocities and it caused good Americans, Canadians and British today to support limiting civil liberties, engaging in profiling and other acts that are of undemocratic nature. Fear is the most potent political propaganda because it destroys all rational capacity for logical thought.

While invading other countries, the Nazi government always argued they were defending Germany from others and not fighting a war of aggression. They often claimed that they were "invited" by allies or fighting "defensive" wars. The Blitzkrieg by Israel on Arab countries in 1967 was also thought of as a "defensive war" and "preemptive" in nature. Many Americans also were duped to think that the invasion of Iraq in 2003 was not an aggression but rather an action taken in self-defense. Even though American troops have bombed over 30 countries since 1946 and American troops and "advisers" are now stationed in over 140 countries, many still believe that we are defending "our freedom." Yet, not one Iraqi, Korean, Nicaraguan, Vietnamese, Dominican, Grenadan, Panamanian, or Lebanese troops has ever set foot on United States soil. In each case, fear spread by those in power led the population of the aggressor nations to accept the absurd propaganda of their governments and to acquiesce in the victimization of other people.

The esteemed psychologist Dr. William Sargant argued that governments use fear to create temporary impaired judgment and heightened individual and mass suggestibility creating a "herd instinct" most noticeable during times of conflict (William Sargant, Battle of the Mind: a Physiology of Conversion and Brainwashing, Cambridge: Malor Books, 1957, 255 pp.). A good example of this psychological effect is the public sentiments in the crisis atmosphere following the attacks on the United States on September 11, 2001. It is now well documented how the administration in Washington used this atmosphere of fear to promote its own agenda of hegemony and control ranging from the so-called PATRIOT act to the invasion of Iraq.End quote

But upon further reflections in the past 11 years since I wrote TAT, I now think fear is not only a tool of the politicians but that politicians are the worst victims of a particular kind of phobia. Most of them know the truth but are deathly afraid of it and so choose the path of lies. I believe the main reason is that they worry that acknowledging truth can be a first step to working to correct things and this could jeopardize the status quo which includes their position, their wealth, their popularity or some other thing that they cherish (other than their conscience which is suppressed). Zionist politicians are paranoid when it comes to the truth of Zionist history of racism of ethnic cleansing and of massive violation of Palestinian human rights. They are afraid of the truth that Zionism based on lies is unsustainable and that coexist ace and equality are possible. Many Palestinian politicians are paranoid when it comes to the truth of their own corruption, nepotism, collusion with Zionism (see Oslo accords) and hidden racist thoughts about the other. Hamas politicians are deathly afraid of Fatah politicians and vice versa.

But this is also true of us common lay people. Phobias suppress our strong desire to shout out the truth, to challenge injustice, to speak our minds fully, to be rebellious, to not worry about being ridiculed. Ironically in our heart of hearts, mind of minds we know that all excellence emerges from defeating this phobia of the truth. The list of >530 phobias compiled and listed at phobialist.com misses that one so shall we call it veritasphobia or VP for short (Veritas is latin for truth)! Acknowledging the truth that it is possible to let go of our egos, try new things, and love others seems a Utopian dream. But those who suffer from VP also ignore history. After all, it was those who conquered their VP who shaped all positive events in human history from ending slavery to women rights, to civil rights, to human rights. History of progressive humanity is a history of conquering VP by few dedicated individuals.

20th century "heroes" like Helen Keller, Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr, Malcolm X, Che Guevara, Ho Chi Minh, Nelson Mandela, Ghassan Kanafani, Rosa Parks, and thousands of others others follow those who in earlier centuries were called "prophets". They are common people who shed their VP and thus achieved remarkable things. I actually think those who do not do that, are also afraid of proving themselves wrong: i.e. that if they shed their VP, they could accomplish more in their lives than they ever dreamed possible. They are afraid that embarking on a risky road more afraid of potential success than of potential failure! But that is why most people (including most politicians) live mediocre lives risking little and achieving little. [note: I do not consider getting wealth as achieving much unless it is totally dedicated to serving people].

Where are the 21st century heroes and prophets who overcame their Veritasphobia? I did cite some of those from Palestine in my 2012 book "Popular Resistance in Palestine: A history of Hope and Empowerment". But looking for those is only inspiring and they are a minority and we need more of them. Each of us (our politicians included) can and should look in the mirror and say "what about me?"

Nov 25, 2014

We are in the midst of the “Days of Science Festival” in
Palestine (in 18 cities). In Bethlehem District, it is inspiring to watch
hundreds of school children learn basics of questioning and basics of knowledge
acquisition. Students just need opportunities to learn not to be lectured to.
Unfortunately education is taking a back seat among Israelis and Palestinians
to the ongoing daily distorted realities of the governments. For example 43% of
the Palestinian authority budget goes to security (for Israel as subcontractors
of occupation). Israel spent $8 billion just on the expansion and annexation
apartheid wall to steal more Palestinian land. The Oslo and Paris accords
ensured expansion of corruption to unprecedented levels (both in NGOs and
government level). Glittery buildings
and fancy SUVs and hotels ensure the rich in Ramallah and Tel Aviv know little
and care less about the marginalized in our society. Thus 25% of Israeli
children and >50% of Palestinian children live below the poverty line. Otherwise
good people (Palestinian and Israeli) now spend their days begging for aid from
Europeans and Americans and writing progress reports and filling in text and
pictures on imaginary “development activities”. The Palestinian authority
figures and Israeli leaders play games and meet with “dignitaries” in 5-star
hotels hoping they could delay the inevitable collapse of the corrupt system
they created. Perhaps they think that one more year of the status quo means one
more year to accumulate wealth of the hapless people. Meanwhile, the Zionist
Knesset passes a racist “basic” law that consecrates Israel as the state of “the
Jewish people” (Jewish national anthem, laws based on Jewish mythology etc). I
do not know why people complain about the “Islamic State” when Israel has similar
racist laws that set it up as a “Jewish state”.

Insightful letter from US President Thomas Jefferson to
Mordecai Noah, May 28, 1818: “I thank you for the Discourse on the
consecration of the Synagogue in your city, with which you have been pleased to
favor me. I have read it with pleasure and instruction, having learnt from it
some valuable facts in Jewish history which I did not know before. Your sect by
its sufferings has furnished a remarkable proof of the universal spirit of
religious intolerance inherent in every sect, disclaimed by all while feeble,
and practiced by all when in power. Our laws have applied the only antidote to
this vice, protecting our religious, as they do our civil rights, by putting
all on an equal footing. But more remains to be done, for although we are free
by the law, we are not so in practice."

Colonization activities here in Palestine go unchecked: Jerusalem
is being mutated to a Jewish city and its natives removed, and the common
people suffer horridly (house demolitions, killing, jailing, ethnic cleansing
etc). The rich get richer and the poor get poorer. International law and human
rights are not relevant to the racist Zionist “might makes right.” Yet, we do
not have the luxury of despair and we must redouble our efforts even in the
spheres we can work. That is why we teach students at our universities. That is
why over 30 volunteers are working hard every day on the science festival in
the Palestine Museum of Natural History (at Bethlehem University). Changing
behavior is critical to build the human resources needed to reshape the future.
We believe we can make our own future and write our own history. The challenges
we face are both external and internal and the internal challenges are far more
pressing. We must end the mental colonization before we end the physical one.

I end with a message from a South African who participated
in work with the World Council of Churches in Palestine: “Dr Mazin: your
article today reads like a discourse from our apartheid South African history.
It takes me back to my own childhood & growing up, the displacement of
communities, creation of what they called homelands, alienation of family &
friends. Tensions flaring, arrests, loved ones leaving the country of their birth,
some to never be seen again. Violent killings or imprisonment of those who
resisted. All this in the name of religion & the entitlement of one over
another. It was legitimized by many countries around the world. That was why I
couldn't just walk away in 2004 when I volunteered to heed the call of the
Palestinian religious leaders via EAPPI & stayed for 2 years. I later
realised why. It was something I knew, grew up with could relate to & also
knew it would not, could not last forever. Unfortunately the world is so slow
to react to this gross injustice, the same as with apartheid or the holocaust,
or ebola, or South Sudan & so I can go on. Evil can only prevail when good
man do nothing. My comrade never get tired with what you are doing, this too shall
end. Aluta continua!!! In SA we also have another slogan : Amandla - Awethu!!!
(Power to the people). Stay strong, I was born under Apartheid & lived
& worked to see its end.”

I may add that like with South Africa, help of the
international community must be directed at ending apartheid not at making
conditions of imprisonment (colonization) a bit more tolerable to the native
people. Hence I say encourage BDS (boycott, divestment, sanctions) and
encourage real resistance to the apartheid state of Israel. Try to avoid those
who claim they are resisting in order to get a few more donor dollars! Try to
put your effort (and money) in a direction that produces measurable impact in
that direction.

To see pictures of our activities in the science festival
and more, look for our facebook page under Palestine Museum of Natural History.
Also come visit us anytime.

Sep 5, 2014

[First a correction/apology: Last week I broadcast information I received erroneously from Twitter: It was not David but his brother Richard Attenborough who died. Many of you wrote to correct me (over 200 messages), so in a way this error showed that people read and check and that is good].

According to the United Nations, the Palestinian Ministry of Health and the Palestinian Center for Human Rights, in its latest assault on the people of Gaza, the occupation forces killed 2170 and injured 10900 human beings (about 80% of them civilians, >519 children killed, 2114 children injured).

Israel was using the media distraction it created with slaughter of Palestinians in Gaza (while shouting “hamas, hamas”) to hide the intensification of its ethnic cleansing policies in the occupied West Bank. For example, Israel announced one of the largest expropriation ordesr of Palestinian lands to expand its illegal Gush Etzion complex of colonies. 3799 dunums of land (1000 acres) are to be taken from the villagers of Husan, Nahhalin, and Wadi Fukin.

The latest “ceasefire” arrangement between the resistance factions and Israel are closer to resistance demands than Israeli demands. A majority of Israeli citizens supported the genocide in Gaza and they wanted even more mayhem. Polls also reveal that many do not buy their government propaganda that the Israeli military won. But in wars there are no winners but only losers and worse losers. Gaza was devastated because the Israeli military was unable to find or attack resistance forces and vented its frustration on civilians. But politicians have a ways of twisting things to their advantage. Even Mahmoud Abbas joined the fray to adopt the Israeli myth that the ceasefire agreed to in the end was the same as the ceasefire offered in the beginning. But Israel has just violated the cease fire by attacking fisherman off the coast of Gaza. Alas, we are in for a long struggle and I urge people to intensify the BDS movement against the apartheid regime of Israel. I get interviewed a lot and speak to visiting internationals regularly. The Palestinian cause is one of the most just causes in history. What we need o do is change ourselves first and move towards more actions (especially by us Palestinians but also by global activists).

"Civil resistance and conflict transformation: Transitions from armed to nonviolent struggle“ has just been released! I have a chapter in it on Palestine struggle (colonial anti-colonial and tactics of the resistance) http://www.routledge.com/books/details/9781138019423/

A Common Dreams investigation has discovered thousands of anti-Semitic comments over the past two years were posted by proxies who support Israel. One included posting comments by a screen name, "JewishProgressive," whose purpose was to draw attention to and denounce the anti-Semitic comments that HE had written under many other screen names. One proxy commentator posted inflammatory comments under sixty names and a host of identities/ Black, White and Jewish!!! http://www.commondreams.org/hambaconeggs

Aug 25, 2014

We lost three good and famous people this week: Holocaust survivor and humanist Hajo Meyer, Environmentalist broadcaster David Attenborough, and Palestinian Poet Samih AlQasim. I first met Hajo (born 1924 and died 23 August 2014) over 10 years ago and communicated with him frequently via email. And he wrote me 7 years ago when I wrote about the transfer agreement signed between Nazi Germany and the Zionist leaders "Are you aware that besides the Ha'avarah agreement the terrorist and murderer Avraham Stern had written to the Nazis on January 11th 1941 to fight with his Irgun forces together with the Nazis against the British! That is, I think, still stronger stuff." Here is Hajo as I remember him speaking his mindhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cSlFR541Uoo

David Attenborough deep and resonating voice narrating spectacular nature videos impacted many of us. These videos will have a special place in our nascent Palestine Museum of Natural History. I especially liked his series "Wonderful World" on BBC: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B8WHKRzkCOY

We also lost a great Palestinian poet Samih Al-Qasem this week. He was born from a Druze family in 1939 but considered his own date of birth as 1948 because that is when he said he awoke to what was happening to our people. He had a great career contributing words to many now famous Palestinian national songs like this one in Arabic followed by the English translation

The day I'm killed,my killer, rifling through my pockets,will find travel tickets:One to peace,one to the fields and the rain,and oneto the conscience of humankind.Dear killer of mine, I beg you:Do not waste the tickets.Take them, use them.I beg you to travel.

We also lost many other good people including a mother (Tasnim Isam Judeh) and her four Children in the ongoing Israeli genocidal campaign against Palestinians in Gaza. These simple people trying to live inthe world's largest open air prison are equally important to remember, to mourn, and to celebrate their lives. I most grieve for children lost who could have had so much future potential. Yet, while we lost good people this week we also gained much and are enriched by life. As David Attenborough reminds us life goes on in all its glory and beauty and death and regrowth. For example Gaza displaced residents in temporary shelters delivered dozens of babies and even held weddings. And some friends here and in Gaza are bringing art, music, culture, beauty to this otherwise mad world. Friends whose homes are demolished promise to rebuild and those injured are heeling. Life goes on in all its pluses and minuses. We have so far studied over 40 species of butterflies in Bethlehem University! We adopted a stray dog at the museum and planted seeds (literal and metaphysical). We note that all life is exquisitely beautiful as it blossoms. Without change and growth and interacting with our environment, we have stagnation. We must all be part of this in a positive way adding to building and wonder and growth. Hence activism and growth are the epitome of living a meaningful life exemplified by those who left us. When it is our time to go, will we have lived this meaningful life?

Aug 21, 2014

Some of the volunteers for the Palestine Museum of Natural History, Bethlehem, Occupied Palestine

I have not written much lately and this email maybe personal and hard. Our days start early and end very late. Our nights are also occasionally interrupted by calls from friends in Gaza or others who need some support. In the past 48 hours, over 100 Palestinian civilians were killed by Israeli occupation forces. Many of those are in Rafah. Sometimes I feel guilty that I am affected more by those I know than those who die that I did not know. For example, I cried after I hung-up the phone with Islam, a friend in Rafah who has four children and they can't sleep and their house shook and windows shattered as missiles rained on homes nearby. I cried because I know him and his handicapped son and his dilemma at whether to try to carry his son and run to the street or not. But then I cried some more thinking of the many innocents who got killed and injured and who I dd not personally know and did not cry for them earlier. Islam and his family will be traumatized for life. Hundreds of thousands will be even more traumatized. I can't even imagine a life of a girl who lost all her family members and carries emotional and physical scars for life.

Sometimes I think I carry scars too. Perhaps I cope because I am so lucky to have positive things to do daily to keep me from thinking too much. I am lucky because I can help others. I am lucky that I am surrounded by dozens of young volunteers that show us what life could be like in the future. Volunteers passing out fliers about boycotts, volunteers reclaiming agricultural lands, volunteers helping us build a natural history museum in Palestine, volunteers helping other volunteers cope with a difficult life, volunteers giving time and money to needy children, and volunteers doing media work (that should have been done by paid professionals). Aida refugee camp where some of those volunteers live is really unlivable because of daily dumping of toxic gas and toxic stink water by the Israeli occupation forces. Its health impact is dramatic and far worse than respiratory illnesses.

People ask me about politics and claim it is too complex. I say it is simple and predictable. For thousands of years we had a struggle between wealthy greedy people who employ others to shoot and injure poor people so that they wealthy people get richer. It was like that at the time of Jesus and it is like that today. Some (minority) who get offered a chance will join forces of repression and go with the flow of power. Others (also a minority) lead an active life that helps change things for the better for a lot of people. The majority in the middle remain apathetic. More people need to see the truth and act on it. It is not too difficult even for those who were on the side of repression to change. Yonatan Shapira former Israeli Air Force captain became a refusnik and BDS activist and once wrote: "Most of my family came from Poland and many of my relatives were killed in the death camps during the Holocaust. When I walk in what was left from the Warsaw Ghetto I can’t stop thinking about the people of Gaza who are not only locked in an open air prison but are also being bombarded by fighter jets, attack helicopters and drones, flown by people whom I used to serve with. I am also thinking about the delegations of young Israelis that are coming to see the history of our people but also are subjected to militaristic and nationalistic brainwashing on a daily basis. Maybe if they see what we wrote here today they will remember that oppression is oppression, occupation is occupation, and crimes against humanity are crimes against humanity, whether they have been committed here in Warsaw or in Gaza". I only add resistance is resistance' Warsaw ghetto residents also dug tunnels and were also called terrorists by their tormentors.

In my 2004 book “Sharing the land of Canaan” I wrote:
“Palestinians were subjected to cruel and unreasonable treatment over so many years that many begin to doubt that justice is possible and many certainly believe coexistence impossible. Similarly, since many Israelis have been feeling embattled and attacked that many also feel that coexistence is impossible. A defeatist attitude develops and envelops not only Palestinians and Israelis but also may of their supporters. But either the societies coexist as peaceful human beings or they will perish as rival primate societies.…..A sense of hopelessness and desperation leaves many looking for “crumbs” of both material and psychological “food”. This is especially stressful when combined with the deep commitment by many to historical myths of grandeur or glory. I am not going to spend much time on the history of the Jewish, Arabic and Islamic civilizations (volumes have been written on these). Suffice it to say that our psychological profile is one that contrasts our existing condition with the perceived greatness of our ancestors and our prophets. We thus assume ourselves as a privileged group but this immediately contrasts with what we observe to be the destitute present situation as described throughout this book. This is especially true for the Palestinian people who are dispossessed. We can address the bigger issues of why 1.3 billion Muslims or 300 million Arabs (Muslims and Christians) have so little to say in the direction of world economies and social and cultural developments so dominated now by the US as a sole remaining power. But perhaps this too can be resolved slowly once the knot of friction in Israel/Palestine is resolved. Imagine the example set if this one place in the world, previously an example of violence, endemic hatred and tribalism, can transcend all this to build a truly shining example of coexistence and non-violence. Imagine the billions of dollars spent on armaments going to desalinate seawater, to build high tech industries, and truly harness the great minds of the inhabitants (Jews, Christians, and Muslims) for positive developments.…....Perhaps we need to teach children to value themselves, value teamwork, respect others and defend the rights of minorities. This is not as simple as it seems. Adults perhaps need to learn to accept, in a very positive fashion, views that are foreign to them. In other words, someone who speaks his views regarding issues should be listened to and respected regardless of how sacred the holy “cows” may be.”

I end with a quote from Howard Zinn (You Can't Be Neutral on a Moving Train: A personal history of our times, p. 208): "To be hopeful in bad times is not just foolishly romantic. It is based on the fact that human history is a history not only of cruelty, but also of compassion, sacrifice, courage, kindness. What we choose to emphasize in this complex history will determine our lives. If we see only the worst, it destroys our capacity to do something. If we remember those times and places - and there are so many - where people have behaved magnificently, this gives us the energy to act, and at least the possibility of sending this spinning top of a world in a different direction. And if we do act, in however small a way, we don't have to wait for some grand utopian future. The future is an infinite succession of presents, and to live now as we think human beings should live, in defiance of all that is bad around us, is itself a marvelous victory."

Aug 10, 2014

Child lost his eyesight after Israeli shelling. The father was killed a week later!

A rocket fell near us Tuesday in Beit Sahour. From the way it broke-up,
we think it was one of the "iron dome" missiles that missed its mark
(this happens to some 70-80% of missiles that are supposed to intercept
Palestinian home-made rockets from Gaza). The owner of the house
said of the significant damage: "we are with Gaza and continue to
be". Wars bring out the worse in people and the best in people.
Israeli devastation of Gaza is facing against heroism of resilience and resistance
of Palestinians and an awakening of conscience of millions. Every hour we hear
stories and listen to dignified resilient voices from Gaza in the face of
incredible devastation. Medics who continue to operate even as their colleagues
and relatives are killed. Remaining family members who lost everything but
promise to rebuild and fight back until freedom. Municipal workers trying to
avert a catastrophe and keep bombed sewage and water lines open and separate.
Neighbors helping each other. Resistance fighters coming back from the front
lines to help dig for civilian corpses buried under the rubble. A child
consoling her little brother after all their family has been wiped out. People
taking care of each other and giving all of us lessons in how we can keep our
humanity. Messages from Gaza say to us "we survive, we are fine, how about
you? How are you?" Gaza has become like the pH meter in my lab, a good
barometer of change in the medium. How are we, the medium of humanity doing and
where are we heading?

Israel has developed a doctrine of slowly increasing attacks on
civilians to give them a chance to supposedly stop the resistance (an
impossible task). The three stages used in the past four weeks included: first
stage) used in the first week of the shelling of Gaza included Israeli
forces giving warning to some of the people to leave their houses before they
flattened them with shells (a form of ethnic cleansing never-the-less).
Second stage) clearing neighborhoods with a blanket statement in media to
evacuate whole neighborhoods, then flattening them (also ethnic cleansing),
third stage) no warning just blanket and random shelling increasing civilian
deaths. Overlapping stage two and three was also the shelling of hospitals
and schools and the power station (targeting infrastructure, mostly without
notice given). Having exhausted these three stages which obviously were well
planned, Israeli leaders announced victory and moved on. The only gain was to
bank account of those who profit from wars (companies like Elbit Systems). This
helps sales of weapons (depleting stocks which have to be bought back and the
US taxpayers pay for these). People die but some people get to be even more
rich.

On the bright side (if there is any), this adventure accelerated the
inevitable decline of the racist genocidal state of Israel. The resistance is
strengthened because people saw that Israel could not advance one or two
kilometers into Gaza without casualties of its soldiers who are paranoid about
being captured or killed (even killed by Israeli forces to prevent them from
being captured. Many committed suicide or injured themselves to leave the
battle field. In 1967, Israeli armies advanced and conquered hundreds of
kilometers without any opposition from supposed "Arab armies". The
land conquered per hour was literally the time it took infantry to walk across
the landscape (no opposition). Israel, Jordan and Egypt did not fight or even
plan to fight. And they had supplies and open borders. Here a concentration
camp (the enclave of Gaza) giving Israel a real fight and Israeli mighty army
is bloodied and confused and wining about tunnels (well yes, the Vietcong also
used tunnels because everything above ground was instantly scorched by imperial
US forces). So many lies were uncovered that many observers have started to
believe Hamas and other resistance groups more than they believe anything that
the Western Mainstream Media and Netanyahu and his puppets have to say. Mr.
Netanyahu came in front of the Israeli public and lied yet again. Israel
acknowledged some 50 soldiers killed but most Israelis know the number is at
least three times as high. Many Israeli families acknowledge money is being
given to them to refrain from mentioning the killing of their children at the
borders of Gaza. One Israeli leak suggested some 130-150 Israeli soldiers
killed (closer to a number released by Hamas resistance). But the ceasefire
declared by the UN (the only one declared by the UN and agreed to by the two parties)
was broken by Israeli forces after they encountered some resistance fighters in
their advance to Rafa and two Israeli soldiers were killed and the area was
bombed burying a third soldier with the resistance fighters on spot. The
Israeli government version of this was a fabrication (soldiers were attacked,
one was kidnapped etc). Hamas's version of what might have happened was more
believable (they lost contact with soldiers defending the field East of Rafah
and they presume them dead). Belatedly the Israeli version changed and they
were forced t accept a version closer to what the Palestinians said. But this
is of little consolation to Palestinians including children massacred with the
excuse that Hamas broke the cease fire. Now there is talk in Cairo to give
Israel what it could not achieve by military means: impunity from crimes,
pacification of the natives while maintaining colonization and injustice.

But people are moving. The above call and other like it are followed by
actions. There si widening boycotts of everything Israeli and people are
mobilizing aid convoys to Gaza (three trucks from my own town of Beit Sahour
will leave in the next two days and this is just one of hundreds of such
efforts). Yet this is still not enough. 400,000 Palestinians are now
dislocated and for nearly half of them, their homes have been destroyed.
Billions of dollars are needed to rebuild. Every bit helps though and actions
speak louder than words. As we help Gaza Palestinians on a humanitarian level,
we must also ensure accountability and to prevent more Israeli crimes. To do
that we need BDS, we need ICC, we need coordination and joint action.

Names of Palestinians murdered by the colonial fascist Israeli forces
(they are not numbers or even names, they are people with their stories and
their rights violated and robbed of their lives by a war machine empowered by
human silence) http://www.imemc.org/article/68429

I have many friends/colleagues in Gaza and all where affected by the
ongoing horrors, more than half of them had family members killed (see for
example story of family members of our colleague Dr Mona El Farra below), and
one was killed herself with two of her children.

Aug 1, 2014

To those who understand the interconnectedness of our many human struggles for justice and dignity, we in the Palestinian Civil Society implore you to act in solidarity as Gaza burns and bleeds, gathers and buries the lifeless bodies of her children, and contends with carnage and loss for which there is no language. The Gaza Strip is 139 square mile packed with 1.8 million people (1.2 million of whom are refugees ethnically cleansed by Israel between 1947-1950). This open-air prison has been suffocating under a deadly siege imposed by Israel for years and accommodated by the Egyptian government under pressure from the USA. A UN report before the latest assault said the Strip will be unlivable by 2020 but this attacks may bring that date sooner. Further, Gaza has been subjected to repeated massacres as Israel uses the small strip as testing grounds for its latest weaponry (funded by US taxpayers). According to the ministry of health, in its latest assault on the people of Gaza, Israeli occupation forces murdered 1283 and injured 7170 human beings (80% of them civilians, >200 children). Entire families are wiped out almost every day by Israel’s relentless bombing of civilian areas. Even before this latest assault, Israel has declared 20% of Gaza off-limits to human habitation and has demolished homes and agricultural fields in those areas. Now Israel has doubled this scorched earth area to be 40% of Gaza (182,000 displaced). We watch in horror as Israeli occupation forces destroyed mosques, schools, hospitals, agricultural areas, industries, and even the only power station in Gaza. We ask people of conscience to contact media and politicians to ensure that Israel is not immune from compliance with International Humanitarian Law. We also ask for expansion of campaigns of boycotts, divestment, and sanctions (BDS). Hundreds of thousands around the world demonstrated for Gaza and we are grateful. But more actions at this stage are needed to prevent large-scale genocide and human catastrophe in Gaza. As Gaza is forced into darkness and devastation, we must speak on her behalf. Our friends and family members in Gaza call on you to demand the lifting of the siege on Gaza, the immediate provision of medical and humanitarian aid, and holding Israel accountable for war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Jul 28, 2014

Salma Al-Radiya, 2 years old, was killed by shrapnel from an Israeli tank shell in Beit Lihaya, north of Gaza Strip on July 23, 2014.

The holiday at the end of Ramada brings mixed feelings and we could sense this here in Bethlehem on the faces of our Muslim neighbors, friends and colleagues. They tell us of their sadness at the massacres of whole families but they also tell proudly of resistance, persistence, resilience, self help and help to other. It is still a month of blessings. I was at the bank of Palestine on Saturday and saw lines of people sending money to colleagues and friends in Gaza. We had cloth and food drives. Convoys bringing medical aid are finally being allowed to enter even as 150 bodies were pulled from under the rubble in one neighborhood alone. Israeli soldiers speak to Haaretz of large scale destruction of civilian neighborhoods in Gaza and surprise and fear at the resistance fighters. Most people understand that Gaza is a big crowded prison that is being subjected to a most ruthless occupation that destroyed its economy and means of livelihood. Yet, some Zionists want to convince people that somehow resistance should not come from within this population! But there are no winners in the latest conflict started by Israel even though both resistance forces and Israel claim victory. Israel can claim victory by destroying so many neighborhoods, killing nearly a thousand civilians (very few resistance fighters). This they hope will teach a lesson not to resist. That is a foolish dream for all this does is stoke hatred and call for revenge from the killers and not decrease support among the population for resistance. Israeli intelligence agents know this (see for example below interview with ex-head of the Shin Bet). Israeli leaders know that with every strike on "Arabs" as they like to call us, resistance actually grows in strength and supporters. Hamas and other resistance forces gain in stature and Netanyahu appeared tough and gained some voters from teh racist right quarters in Israeli politics. Yet, Palestinians lives are lost that are irreplaceable and faith in human dignity tarnished as western leaders were forced to defend a an ongoing genocide so that they can please their Zionist lobbyists.The price paid by all humanity is far too high.

Let me start by actual pictures and names of those Israel murdered. They are not just numbers (1070 murdered so far including over 200 children). PLEASE take time to get to know some of them http://humanizepalestine.com/(there were also at least 45 Israeli soldiers killed by resistance fighters and in some cases directly by Israeli forces; see below)

Now what is the real reason for the Gaza carnage? Benjamin Netanyahu blamed Hamas for taking three young Israeli settlers (colonial squatters in occupied areas). It turns out even Israeli police knew that Hamas leaders were not involved (even though teh suspects were never apprehended let alone charged). Hamas itself said it was not involved. see http://mondoweiss.net/2014/07/killed-turning-onslaught.html

Governments lie, people die. Netanyahu is a consummate liar interested in one thing only: his political and economic career. Most Israelis know that he told them lies about this latest attack on Gaza, most know he lied to them about settlements and why he opposed Oslo accords. Most know their government lied to them about the success of the so called Iron Dome" (a scam to make millions with success rate below 30%). After all they could see for themselves falling home made rockets on their cities regularly. They also know much more. They know that Israeli forces sometimes do the unthinkable: e.g. Israel Murders IDF Soldier to Prevent His Capture http://www.richardsilverstein.com/2014/07/26/israel-murders-idf-soldier-to-prevent-his-kidnapping/

Yuval Diskin was the director of Israel's internal security service Shin Bet between 2005 and 2011 and he recently 24 July 2014 had an Interview with Der Spiegel/Reuters. He was asked " Is Israel not essentially driving Palestinians into the arms of Hamas? He answered "It looks that way, yes. The people in the Gaza Strip have nothing to lose right now, just like Hamas. And this is the problem. As long as Mohammed Morsi of the Muslim Brotherhood was in power in Egypt, things were going great for Hamas. But then the Egyptian army took over and within just a few days, the new regime destroyed the tunnel economy between Gaza and the Sinai Peninsula, which was crucial for Hamas. Since then, Hamas has been under immense pressure; it can't even pay the salaries of its public officials."

Divkin also Stated that "The army is now trying to destroy the tunnels between Israel and the Gaza Strip with a kind of mini-invasion, also so that the government can show that it is doing something. ...It is in equal parts action for the sake of action and aggressive posturing." But then he even reveals something that all Israeli leaders know but choose to ignore: "They [Palestinians] will never accept the status quo of the Israeli occupation. When people lose hope for an improvement of their situation, they radicalize. That is the nature of human beings. The Gaza Strip is the best example of that. All the conditions are there for an explosion. So many times in my life I was at these junctions that I can feel it almost in my fingertips."

His observations while from a Zionist colonial perspectve concords in predicting a pressure cooker about to explode with other observors for example see this from someone who lived in Jenin for a while: The Paper Thin Underpinnings to Peace: Occupation and Intifada in 2014Those of us who cut through the lies act. There were demonstration in over 100 cities including Tokyo, Paris, London, Chicago, New York, Washington, Cairo, Tunis, Rabat etc). Some had tens of thousands and some over 100,000 participants. Here are just some inspiring photos: http://mondoweiss.net/2014/07/worldwide-protest-israeli.html

There was even a demonstration of a few thousand in Tel Aviv objecting to the slaughter in Gaza. Some Israeli soldiers and reserves refused orders to mobilize to Gaza. All these demonstrations had mixed groups of people (all ethnicities and all religions). The few demonstrations for Israel and in support of killing Palestinians were tiny and included only Jewish Zionists (the largest was as expected in New York with a few hundred particularly angry and racist ones). We must concentrate on doing more positive actions and publicizing them. "Lighting a candle instead of cursing the darkness" as the old Chinese saying goes. I leave you with poignant note that a Church in Gaza is now home to dozens of displaced Muslim families. The pastor said that Islamic prayers in his church are welcome as Israel destroys mosques. That is the Palestine I love. That is the Palestine that will win. Decent Jewish citizens in the US were arrested as they demonstrated inside the NY offices of "Friends of the IDF" (a group supporting child killers tax deductible). That is the humanity that I love.

Jul 20, 2014

It is hard not to cry watching the unfolding horror in Gaza, children with heads blown off, pregnant woman with body torn by a shell, babies with missing limbs, targeting of playing children, targeting hospitals, targeting ambulances, and even a handicap center killing two handicap children. Israeli forces then ratcheted up their attacks committing large scale massacres in places like Shujaia and Beit Hanoun. 80% of the victims are elderly, women and Children (over 110 children so far). Though mainstream western media self-sensors to comply with the Zionist lobby, the truth is coming out and the videos and pictures are horrific. Our friends in Gaza issue desperate calls to us. Israel cannot absolve itself by saying we asked people to evacuate (110,000 are homeless already). Forcing people out of their homes is a crime against humanity let alone bombing those who remain. But CNN and other western media run by Zionists interview colonizer leaders like Netanyahu who is a habitual liar and do not interview representatives of the victims or the resistance.

Gaza is very heavily populated thanks to the ethnic cleansing done to create the racist colonial state of Israel. Two thirds of the people are refugees denied their basic rights including right to return to their homes and lands. Israel tries to dehumanize its victims while blaming the few people who resist as “the problem.” Unfortunately as I stated repeatedly before, colonization and ethnic cleansing are the violence, and resistance is actually part of the remedy. I repeatedly explained that Zionism lost and Zionists will get very violent here before they finally give up privilege based on racist ideology. They refused to abide by basic human norms and insisted that through money and military might they could achieve their goal of a racist ethnocentric chauvinistic state. I always held the hope that the elites among them will be able to step back and avoid this suicidal path. If only they admit the folly of their ways, and ask their victims for forgiveness. I always thought it is possible and is the only way to peace here. I always feared though the Zionist strategy would lead to a lose lose scenario. In this case, they will lose more since there are some hundreds of millions of Arabs and only at best 2-3 million Zionists. Many Jews did see this folly and became anti-Zionist or post-Zionists. But Zionists were influential and powerful and intimidated and silenced millions including some Arabs and Muslims (look at our “leaders” like Abbas and Sisi). The Egyptian government even denied medical relief convoys from entering Gaza. Spoiled Zionists used to privilege on the expense of others are acting mad since they can't get their way to silence their victims. They decided to go all out and having failed to stop the resistance decided to take on civilians.

For those of us who have been through this many times, we feel there is something different this time suggesting that it maybe indeed the last Zionist tantrum. It is hard to imagine what else Netenyahu and his racist gang can try. They have tried to destroy Gaza and Lebanon before but in every round, the resistance only grows stronger. They even went into this bizarre idea that they can succeed to mobilize the world against Political Islam by training and funding killers through Arab regime puppets and sent them to kill people (christians, Shia, democrats, etc) to simply say “look they are horrible”. Instead of intimidating everyone, the obvious and now exposed game creates a backlash and awaken a lot of people to join the ever spreading wave of real resistance aimed at justice which is the only route to peace. Zionists are unleashing the only tool they have (their military) and whipping up even more frenzied racism among their people (e.g. Israelis cheering the slaughter in Gaza). Another sign of the endgame is the scurrying of western puppets around the world capitals to try and show their people that we are “doing something.” I think that explains Abbas in Cairo and Istanbul and his calling for a three day mourning period for the victims of last massacre while still working overtime to undermine resistance. Another massacre was committed and his police force prevented demonstrators in the West Bank and his spokesman tried to act as if Israel and Gaza are two children querreling and he is the grown-up. Our choice is certainly not between Western created Israel (and Arab puppets) and Western created fanatics beheading fellow Muslims and forcing Christians to flee for their lives! The steadfastness of 1.8 million Palestinians in Gaza is creating a ripple effect that could end this theater of the absurd for good. Maybe that is why both sides of Western creations are acting desperately (killing, butchering, and trying so hard to create fitna/division!). Maybe that is why we need not despair but instead focus on building some positive and credible movement for peace with justice. We need more actions for boycotts, divestment, and sanctions (BDS). We need more demonstrations. We need more movement against quisling and weak “leaders”. We need to force mainstream media to stop their compliance. We need to ridicule and embarrass politicians who support racism and apartheid. We need to support the Palestinian people in their Sumud (resistance and resilience). But that is tomorrow.. today we need all to work to end the horrific slaughter of Gaza civilians by a fascist government. All of us need to turn off our computers and our TVs and go down to the streets (after we tell others to join us !)

Mads with a patient in Gaza

Below is a letter from Dr. Mads Gilbert, a physician working in Gaza.

Dearest friends -

Last night was extreme. The "ground invasion" of Gaza resulted in scores and carloads with maimed, torn apart, bleeding, shivering, dying - all sorts of injured Palestinians, all ages, all civilians, all innocent.

The heroes in the ambulances and in all of Gaza's hospitals are working 12-24hrs shifts, grey from fatigue and inhuman workloads (without payment all in Shifa for the last 4 months), they care, triage, try to understand the incomprehensible chaos of bodies, sizes, limbs, walking, not walking, breathing, not breathing, bleeding, not bleeding humans. HUMANS!

Now, once more treated like animals by "the most moral army in the world" (sic!).
My respect for the wounded is endless, in their contained determination in the midst of pain, agony and shock; my admiration for the staff and volunteers is endless, my closeness to the Palestinian "sumud" gives me strength, although in glimpses I just want to scream, hold someone tight, cry, smell the skin and hair of the warm child, covered in blood, protect ourselves in an endless embrace - but we cannot afford that, nor can they.

Ashy grey faces - Oh NO! not one more load of tens of maimed and bleeding, we still have lakes of blood on the floor in the ER, piles of dripping, blood-soaked bandages to clear out - oh - the cleaners, everywhere, swiftly shovelling the blood and discarded tissues, hair, clothes,cannulas - the leftovers from death - all taken away...to be prepared again, to be repeated all over. More then 100 cases came to Shifa last 24 hrs. enough for a large well trained hospital with everything, but here - almost nothing: electricity, water, disposables, drugs, OR-tables, instruments, monitors - all rusted and as if taken from museums of yesterdays hospitals.But they do not complain, these heroes. They get on with it, like warriors, head on, enormous resolute.

And as I write these words to you, alone, on a bed, my tears flows, the warm but useless tears of pain and grief, of anger and fear. This is not happening!

An then, just now, the orchestra of the Israeli war-machine starts its gruesome symphony again, just now: salvos of artillery from the navy boats just down on the shores, the roaring F16, the sickening drones (Arabic 'Zennanis', the hummers), and the cluttering Apaches. So much made and paid in and by US.

Mr. Obama - do you have a heart?
I invite you - spend one night - just one night - with us in Shifa. Disguised as a cleaner, maybe.

I am convinced, 100%, it would change history.

Nobody with a heart AND power could ever walk away from a night in Shifa without being determined to end the slaughter of the Palestinian people.
But the heartless and merciless have done their calculations and planned another "dahyia" onslaught on Gaza.

The rivers of blood will keep running the coming night. I can hear they have tuned their instruments of death.

Jun 23, 2014

In the past 10 days, Israeli occupation soldiers murdered 7
Palestinians (including a 13 year old child), injured dozens, kidnapped nearly
400, demolished many houses, destroyed contents and broken doors on hundreds of
homes invaded in the middle of the night, blocked travel to hundreds of
thousands, and continues to imprison thousands many on hunger strike for being
held without charge for months. One of the people they kidnapped is also Samer
Aleisawi who is famous for having the longest hunger strike in history as a
political prisoner. He was released only after human rights activists and human
rights organizations exerted significant pressure on Israel He was now
kidnapped using the excuse of three missing colonial settlers (which maybe a
false flag operation to detract from the suffering of thousands of Palestinian
political prisoners). In those 10 days, Apartheid Israel received nearly 100
million dollars from US taxpayers unaware of what their congress is doing with
their money. And to add insult to injury the colonial apartheid state was given
a vice president position in a UN agency that is supposed to fight colonialism.
To say all of this is Orwellian would be the understatement of the year.

In those ten days other US supported regimes cracked down. Egyptian kangaroo
courts passed death sentences and long prison terms on hundreds of their
political opponents (including even journalists just doing their job). US
supported "Saudi" regime puppets executed hundreds in Iraq.

But there are signs of resistance every where. Israeli parliament member Haneen
Zoabi (a decent Palestinian leader in 1948 occupied areas) was brave to say the
truth others did not dare say: resistance to occupation is legitimate,
collaboration with occupiers against native people is treacherous.
Demonstrations were held in Ramallah against the Palestinian authority (even
throwing stones at a PA police station). This after the PA police blocked
several demonstrations some of them by family members of the Palestinian youth
imprisoned by Israel. There was resistance to the invading Israeli army
in dozens of villages. Al-Aqsa martyrs brigade issues a statement from Balata
refugee camp finally openly accusing Mahmoud Abbas of treason. But Abbas sent
his wife to an Israeli hospital to give the Israelis a good media opportunities
to vilify the Palestinians and beautify the occupiers. But the most
significant news of all: The Presbyterian church general assembly voted to
divest from three American companies that aid the Israeli occupation: Motorola,
Hewlett Packard, and Caterpillar. I wrote on my facebook page after the vote:

"Despite all the Zionist racist tactics that tried to intimidate,
pressure, bully and trick commissioners, there was still enough of them
principled enough to stand that and vote for what is right. Thank you to the
Presbyterian church.. Presbyterians light the way for the rest of humanity..
kudos to all including our activists at Al-Rowwad who sent the message on the
wall, the thousands of peace activists who wrote and acted and spoke out.
Special mention to Jewish Voice for Peace. You all rock. We love you from
Bethlehem"

Now our job is to resist to end this charade. We ,must approach other churches
and we must engage in massive rebellion against the repression. Freedom is not
freely given and it takes effort. Time to act is now.

Jun 15, 2014

The most blatant and obvious manifestation showing western hypocrisy
about violence and human rights remains in Palestine as millions remain
refugees and massive land and resource theft continues supported by Western Governments
who hypocritically still speak of human rights and international law (elsewhere
of course). I warned repeatedly over the
past 20 years that unless human rights and international law are observed uniformly,
the “Middle East” (Western Asia) and the whole world would be at risk of continuing
down the path of mayhem and killings (“might makes right”). I repeatedly explained
that we must choose the different path of justice and coexistence. This is not
a new revelation as many have previously warned of the same choices as observed
by Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King (we either live together as equal or
perish together as fools), Desmond Tutu, Edward Said and many others.

In September 2011 at the 10th anniversary of September
11, 2001, I wrote:

On this sad anniversary, there are a lot of “what if”
scenarios being discussed and healthy reflections around the world. For
example, what if the US and Israel obeyed international law? What if we did not
illegally invade and occupy Iraq and Afghanistan? What if Israel was forced to
comply with UN resolutions on withdrawal from illegally occupied areas and
forced to allow the ethnically-cleansed Palestinians to return to their homes and
lands? In short what if we did not send the message that might makes right but
rather that rights make things right? Would that not have been the most
rational response to extremists whether they are wearing Turbans or wearing
Kippas or wearing crosses?

The painful events happening throughout the area today (in
Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan, Palestine etc.) are just a reminder of these missed
opportunities. Some over the years knew the dangers we faced if we stayed down
that path (e.g. see letter from George Salzman in 2008 http://site.www.umb.edu/faculty/salzman_g/s/2008-12-15.htm

Today, we see mayhem in Iraq and Syria as militias funded by US proxies fight to create an Islamist state in the same way the US funded the Taliban. Today we suffer
collective punishment to millions of Palestinians (already living under
apartheid laws) because three army-enlisted Israeli colonial settlers went
missing. Israel punished the whole population including blaming the Palestinian authority even though the settlers are in the area of the West Bank that has no Palestinian authority presence. Gaza was sealed further, over 120 Palestinians were kidnapped in the past 24 hours, and we
Palestinians in the West Bank are prevented from freedom of movement. Those
under 50 are denied the right to even leave the country. If these brain-washed settlers living
on stolen Palestinian land were taken by Palestinian resistance, this could be in response to the starving Palestinians in Israeli jails. 5000 kidnapped Palestinians are held in Israeli jails including hundreds of children. Many of
those are held for months without trial (called “administrative detention” but is a
war crime per international law), Many are on a hunger strike for the past 50 days.
Some are near death. The US administration calls for the release of three Israelis who are illegally squatting on our land but has not called for the release of thousands of Palestinian civilians held in inhumane conditions in Israeli jails.

International law is very clear on the rights of people
under occupation including the right to resist. Most of our resistance was by
hundreds of forms of non-armed resistance. See my book “Popular Resistance in
Palestine: A history of hope and empowerment”. Oslo was meant and succeeded in
creating a local (subcontracted) “security force” to make this the most
profitable occupation in history (at no cost to the occupying power). But this would not work. It did not work before: the Vichy regime in occupied France and Buthalesi regime in Apartheid South Africa. What will
work is a known path untried since Zionism was founded and created mayhem
throughout the Arab world.

Solutions are in our hands and they can only involve justice
and coexistence. This certainly must not involve continuing the path of “might
makes right”. It is time to think and act on rights as the path to our
collective salvation. Tribalism, factionalism, sectarianism, Zionism must be
ended and we must pursue humanism. There cannot be winners and losers only all
losers or all winners. Let us all be winners by acting for peace and justice.

In my book “Sharing the Land of Canaan” published 10 years
ago, I implored people to shed the notion that violence solves their problems. It
only creates more violence. I ended the chapter on Violence and Terrorism by
quoting Howard Zinn:

“To be hopeful in bad times is not just foolishly
romantic. It is based on the fact that human history is a history
not only of cruelty, but also of compassion, sacrifice, courage, (and)
kindness. What we choose to emphasize in this complex history will
determine our lives. If we see only the worst, it destroys our
capacity to do something. If we remember those times and places -
and there are so many - where people have behaved magnificently, this gives us
the energy to act, and at least the possibility of sending this spinning top of
a world in a different direction. And if we do act, in however small
a way, we don't have to wait for some grand Utopian future. The
future is an infinite succession of presents, and to live now as we think human
beings should live, in defiance of all that is bad around us, is itself a
marvelous victory.”

About Me

Professor Mazin Qumsiyeh teaches and does research at Bethlehem University (BU) and directs the BU's cytogenetics laboratory and the Palestine Museum of Natural History and Institute of Biodiversity and Sustainability in occupied Palestine. He also taught at Birzeit and Al-Quds Universities. He is author of "Sharing the Land of Canaan: Human rights and the Israeli/Palestinian Struggle", “Popular Resistance in Palestine: A history of Hope and Empowerment”, "Mammals of the Holy Land", and "The Bats of Egypt." He formerly served on the board of the Palestinian Center for Rapprochement Between People in Beit Sahour and Al-Rowwad Cultural and Theatre Society at Aida Refugee Camp.